The day began with a humpback whale and chilly overcast morning, which in typical fashion for this trip lifted into blue skies. The whale circled in front of the bow, feeding and diving as we slowly made our way towards our anchorage. After breakfast we zipped to shore. Some folks paddled out in kayaks, exploring the mouth of a stream and admiring the pink-purple-gold shooting stars along the shoreline. Goldeneyes and blue-winged teals floated alongside the kayaks, and hikers enjoyed photo ops of the colorful kayaks. The long distance hikers hit the trail to trek out to the banks of Lake Eva and stand among giant old growth sitka spruce. Other walks wandered the trail admiring and photographing spring flowers, lichens and moss, squirrel middens, sapsuckers and slugs. Bear scat speckled the trail and we had a taste of real brown bear country.
During the afternoon we cruised west in Peril Strait, enjoying close views of Chichagof and Baranof Islands and large stands of Alaska yellow cedar. Evening recap was highly entertaining, the guest slide show was a delight, and captain's dinner was a wonderful celebration of our travels together. As blue skies fade into sunset, we share memories and make plans to meet one another again some day.
